Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves
Encyclopedia
"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" is the first single released by Cher
for the album of the same name
, her seventh solo album. It was her first chart-topper as a solo artist in the United States
.
after the success of the single. The song was written by songwriter Bob Stone as a story-song called "Gypsys, Tramps and White Trash". Producer Snuff Garrett
advised that the title be changed and Stone then changed it to "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves".
It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
on November 6, 1971, and it remained there for two consecutive weeks. The single also reached #1 in Canada
and the Top 10 in many European countries, becoming the number-one selling single of 1971 at more than 3 million copies worldwide. Today it remains one of her signature song
s.
The song describes the life of a girl, the narrator of the song, who was "born in the wagon of a traveling show
". Her mother "used to dance for the money they'd throw", while her father would do "whatever he could; preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
". Although the people of the town called them "gypsys, tramps and thieves", every night "all the men would come around, and lay their money down".
When a young man is picked up in Mobile, the narrator is 16, while he is 21. Her family took care of him for a while, although her father "would have shot him if he knew what he'd done". Three months later, the narrator describes herself as a "girl in trouble", and her young man has disappeared.
Echoing the beginning of the song, Cher's own daughter was "born in the wagon of a traveling show", while her mother danced "for the money they'd throw".
The title of this song has also been shown with alternate spellings of "Gypsies" / "Gypsys".
The lyrics of the song are often ridiculed for their claim to have "picked up a boy just south of Mobile
", the idea being that "just south of Mobile" is somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, there are at least six small communities directly south of Mobile on the west side of the bay, and twice that many on the east side.
In the 1991 review for the album Love Hurts
, Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly
named some of Cher's older songs, including "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", describing it as being "exhilaratingly dumb".
The song has been adopted by Clyde F.C.
, a Scottish
football team whose fans are known as "The Gypsy Army", and the song is played before the kickoff of home matches at Broadwood Stadium
.
The song was featured in an episode of the popular British motoring show Top Gear, in which the hosts traveled to Miami to purchase a car for $1000 and go on a road trip. The song played when the hosts were crossing into Alabama as a joke.
In the 2000 TV mini-series The 10th Kingdom
, John Larroquette
's character sings this song to a group of gypsys after they threaten to kill him if he does not sing.
in 1971. Throughout the video Cher is singing in front of a house wagon and in front of a fire. A second video was made, but it was very similar to the original. In the second video, clips of dancing female gypsies were shown.
. The medley contains the videos of "All I Really Want to Do
", "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed
", and "Dark Lady
".
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
for the album of the same name
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (album)
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves is the seventh studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on September 1971 by Kapp Records. For the realization of this album, Cher left her husband Sonny Bono to produce the album, and for the first time she collabored with Snuff Garrett and with Al Capps for...
, her seventh solo album. It was her first chart-topper as a solo artist in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Song information
"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was the first single from Cher's 1971 self-titled album Cher. The album was subsequently renamed and re-released as Gypsys, Tramps & ThievesGypsys, Tramps & Thieves (album)
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves is the seventh studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on September 1971 by Kapp Records. For the realization of this album, Cher left her husband Sonny Bono to produce the album, and for the first time she collabored with Snuff Garrett and with Al Capps for...
after the success of the single. The song was written by songwriter Bob Stone as a story-song called "Gypsys, Tramps and White Trash". Producer Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett is a retired American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s. His nickname is a play on Garrett's Snuff, a brand of snuff....
advised that the title be changed and Stone then changed it to "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves".
It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on November 6, 1971, and it remained there for two consecutive weeks. The single also reached #1 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Top 10 in many European countries, becoming the number-one selling single of 1971 at more than 3 million copies worldwide. Today it remains one of her signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
s.
The song describes the life of a girl, the narrator of the song, who was "born in the wagon of a traveling show
Medicine show
Medicine shows were traveling horse and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" medications and other products between various entertainment acts. Their precise origins unknown, medicine shows were common in the 19th century United States...
". Her mother "used to dance for the money they'd throw", while her father would do "whatever he could; preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
Snake oil
Snake oil is a topical preparation made from the Chinese Water Snake , which is used to treat joint pain. However, the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for quack medicine...
". Although the people of the town called them "gypsys, tramps and thieves", every night "all the men would come around, and lay their money down".
When a young man is picked up in Mobile, the narrator is 16, while he is 21. Her family took care of him for a while, although her father "would have shot him if he knew what he'd done". Three months later, the narrator describes herself as a "girl in trouble", and her young man has disappeared.
Echoing the beginning of the song, Cher's own daughter was "born in the wagon of a traveling show", while her mother danced "for the money they'd throw".
The title of this song has also been shown with alternate spellings of "Gypsies" / "Gypsys".
The lyrics of the song are often ridiculed for their claim to have "picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
", the idea being that "just south of Mobile" is somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, there are at least six small communities directly south of Mobile on the west side of the bay, and twice that many on the east side.
In the 1991 review for the album Love Hurts
Love Hurts (Cher album)
Love Hurts is the twenty-first studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 11, 1991 by Geffen Records. The RIAA certified it Gold on August 27, 1991. It is the final studio album with the record label Geffen...
, Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named some of Cher's older songs, including "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", describing it as being "exhilaratingly dumb".
The song has been adopted by Clyde F.C.
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
, a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
football team whose fans are known as "The Gypsy Army", and the song is played before the kickoff of home matches at Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium, also referred to as simply Broadwood, is a football stadium and multi-use community sports complex situated in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium was opened in 1994 and since then has been the home venue of Scottish Third Division side, Clyde F.C....
.
The song was featured in an episode of the popular British motoring show Top Gear, in which the hosts traveled to Miami to purchase a car for $1000 and go on a road trip. The song played when the hosts were crossing into Alabama as a joke.
In the 2000 TV mini-series The 10th Kingdom
The 10th Kingdom
The 10th Kingdom is an American epic fantasy miniseries written by Simon Moore and produced by Britain's Carnival Films, Germany's Babelsberg Film und Fernsehen, and the USA's Hallmark Entertainment...
, John Larroquette
John Larroquette
John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
's character sings this song to a group of gypsys after they threaten to kill him if he does not sing.
Live performances
Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:- Do You Believe? TourDo You Believe? TourThe Do You Believe? Tour, sometimes also known as The Believe Tour, was Cher’s third solo concert tour. The tour which took place in 1999 and 2000, was used to promote her album Believe.-History:...
(performed as part of the Hits Medley) - The Farewell TourLiving Proof: The Farewell TourLiving Proof: The Farewell Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer, Cher. The tour supported her twenty-fourth studio album, Living Proof and eleventh compilation album, The Very Best of Cher...
(2002-2005) (performed as part of the Hits Medley) - Cher at the ColosseumCher at the Colosseum'Cher at the Colosseum was a series of concerts by Cher at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the three years engagement, Cher received $180 million. Performing at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the first show occurred on May 6, 2008 and the last show was on February 5, 2011...
Music video
The video for "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was Cher's first music video. The video was a recorded performance of the song on The Sonny & Cher Comedy HourThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband, Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States, when it premiered in August 1971...
in 1971. Throughout the video Cher is singing in front of a house wagon and in front of a fire. A second video was made, but it was very similar to the original. In the second video, clips of dancing female gypsies were shown.
Remix version
In 2002, a special remix medley was created by Dan-O-Rama for a video montage that was used in Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell TourLiving Proof: The Farewell Tour
Living Proof: The Farewell Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer, Cher. The tour supported her twenty-fourth studio album, Living Proof and eleventh compilation album, The Very Best of Cher...
. The medley contains the videos of "All I Really Want to Do
All I Really Want to Do (song)
"All I Really Want to Do" is a song written by Bob Dylan and featured on his Tom Wilson-produced 1964 album, Another Side of Bob Dylan . It is arguably one of the most popular songs that Dylan wrote in the period immediately after he abandoned topical songwriting...
", "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed
Half-Breed (song)
"Half-Breed" is a song recorded by Cher and released as a single in 1973. On October 6, 1973, it became Cher's second U.S. number one hit as a solo artist, similarly becoming her second solo single to hit the top spot in Canada on the same date....
", and "Dark Lady
Dark Lady (song)
"Dark Lady" is an pop rock song recorded by American singer actress Cher from eleventh studio album, Dark Lady. Produced by Snuff Garrett, it was released as the album's first single in early 1974. The song became Cher's third solo U.S...
".
Cover versions
- The song was covered by British pop singer Cilla BlackCilla BlackCilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
. - The song was covered by Vicki LawrenceVicki LawrenceVicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedienne, and Billboard Hot 100 #1 singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
on her album The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia in 1973. - The song was covered by rock band Inkubus SukkubusInkubus SukkubusInkubus Sukkubus are a British goth and pagan band formed in 1989 by Candia Ridley, Tony McKormack, and Adam Henderson.-History:Inkubus Sukkubus are a British goth and pagan band who have been releasing albums and touring since their formation as Incubus Succubus in 1989.-Incubus Succubus:Before...
in 2001, it was contained in their album SupernatureSupernature (Inkubus Sukkubus album)Supernature is the sixth full-length studio album by British Pagan rock band Inkubus Sukkubus. It contains eleven original tracks and a reworked cover of "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher.-Track listing:# "Supernature" – 5:40# "Lucifer Rising" – 4:43...
. - The song has been parodied by Nervous GenderNervous GenderNervous Gender is a punk band founded in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa.Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Screamers, one of the original innovators of what is today called...
on their Music From Hell Lp. - The song was covered by NirvanaNirvana (band)Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
in 1987 with some of the lyrics changed. - It was also covered in 1997, possibly in response to Nirvana's cover ten years earlier, by Anti-Nowhere LeagueAnti-Nowhere LeagueAnti-Nowhere League is an English punk band, formed in 1980 by lead singer Animal , guitarist Magoo , Tony "Bones" Shaw on drums and Chris "Baggy" Elvy on bass.-Early days:...
in their album ScumScum (Anti-Nowhere League album)Scum is the third studio album by English punk rock band the Anti-Nowhere League and the first album of new material released since the original band's breakup ten years previously. A new lineup is featured, with only lead singer Animal and guitarist Magoo remaining from the band which recorded the...
. - Traditional Irish band DervishDervish (band)Dervish are a traditional Irish music group from County Sligo, Ireland. They were formed in 1989 by Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes. The band was originally formed to record an album of local music which was later released as “The Boys of Sligo”. They...
recorded the song in 2007 and frequently includes it in their concerts. - In 2007 the French rap group IAMIAM- Concepts :* Identity and Access Management, a concept that combines business processes, policies and technologies.* Innovation Access Method, a high-performance indexed access-method for IBM's z/OS and OS/390 operating systems that provides a transparent alternative to IBM's VSAM* Indo-Aryan...
sampled it in their song "Une Autre Brique Dans Le Mur". - In 2008 ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
rap group Club DogoClub DogoClub Dogo is an Italian rap group from Milan that consists of the rappers Guè Pequeno and Jake La Furia, and the beatmaker Don Joe.- Sacre Scuole :...
sampled it in their song "Confessioni di una Banconota". - The song was covered by John LarroquetteJohn LarroquetteJohn Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
in The 10th KingdomThe 10th KingdomThe 10th Kingdom is an American epic fantasy miniseries written by Simon Moore and produced by Britain's Carnival Films, Germany's Babelsberg Film und Fernsehen, and the USA's Hallmark Entertainment...
.
Charts
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 27 |
| French Singles chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Mega Top 50 Mega Top 50 The Mega Top 50 is a Dutch music chart, originally started on May 23, 1969 as the Hilversum 3 Top 30. Throughout the years, the chart has had several names and lengths:*1969 - 1974: Hilversum 3 Top 30... Singles Chart |
23 |
| German Singles Chart | 25 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Japanese Radio Chart | 1 |
| Japanese Singles Chart | 17 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |